Coffee brewing apparatuses of various kinds are known in the art. These include machines that brew coffee using pre-ground coffee beans or liquid coffee extract as well as machines that grind coffee beans themselves as part of the brewing process. This also includes machines that make use of a wide variety of coffee bean (ground or unground) carriers. In some cases the ground coffee beans are loose and are simply deposited into a brewing container. In other cases, as when using a pod-based system, the ground coffee beans are provided in a container that is placed within the coffee brewer. Such a container may contain a quantity of material sufficient to support only a single brewing cycle or may contain enough grounds for multiple brewing cycles. In some cases the container may comprise an integral part of the brewing process and in other cases the container may simply retain the grounds until those grounds are needed by the brewing apparatus.
It has been suggested that coffee brewers can comprise a part of a local area network of appliances within a home. In such a case, a plurality of household appliances are communicatively networked, one to another, with one of those appliances also serving as a local server that connects to an external network such as the Internet. Being networked in this manner, a homeowner may be able to control various of the appliances from a remote location. For example, the homeowner may be able to access the master appliance via the Internet and, via that master appliance, then instruct other of the appliances, such as a coffee brewer, to begin functioning at some particular prearranged time.
Such an approach may provide some useful opportunities in at least some application settings. Unfortunately, this approach poses any number of obstacles to convenient installation and operation. As but one observation in this regard, this prior art approach requires the provision and use of at least two appliances to form the desired home-based local area network. This requirement alone, of course, can require a level and degree of appliance-based communications and operational compatibility that may be lacking in the average home absent a considerable capital investment.
It is also not unlikely that such an approach will typically require a level of knowledge, skill, and expertise on the part of the homeowner that is unlikely to be met in a considerable number of cases. It is a point of concern, for example, that many people experience difficulties of various kinds when trying to establish and maintain a relatively simple home-based wireless local area network such as a WIFI-based network. The problems and troubles often raised in this regard take on a new level of concern when applied in the context of home appliances that utilize heat and/or mechanical actuators to effect their ordinary functions.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. It will further be appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. It will also be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions with respect to their corresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except where specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.